The present invention relates generally to textile yarn winding apparatus and particularly to a cop individualizing apparatus of the type provided with a circular cop container with a helical outer cop guide track and an arrangement for vibratorily oscillating the container to cause cops to be conveyed onto and along the track to a discharge end thereof for delivery to a cop dispensing device or apparatus.
The supplying of bobbin winding machines with cops to be unwound can take place in a variety of different manners. In addition to the possibility of a direct connection of the winding machine with a spinning machine, it is also very common to store the cops doffed from the spinning machine in cop containers on a temporary basis and to deliver them at a later time to a bobbin winding machine. However, since the cops must be individually dispensed for processing on the bobbin winding machine, various cop individualizing apparatus and devices have been suggested. So-called vibration conveyor devices have found the greatest commercial application.
For example, German Patent Application DE-OS 30 45 824 describes a cop individualizing system in which cops are dumped from the container of a cop carriage in random arrangement onto a vibration transport device which is followed by a so-called circular conveyor from which the cops are individually dispensed.
The state of filling of this circular conveyor is monitored by a sensor. If the conveyor falls below a predetermined state of filling, the vibration conveyor mounted in front is maintained in operation until the sensor mechanism of the circular conveyor has recognized that a desired state of filling has been achieved.
This circular conveyor forms the actual cop individualizing device and consists of a round container open at its top with an upwardly curved or arched, round central surface forming a container bottom and with a guide track located outwardly of the container bottom extending helically at an upward incline. This guide track is bordered to the outside by a wall surface which follows its spiral course and the guide track empties at its outer end into a cop dispensing device. The container is supported by means of an elastic or resilient mounting to a permanent base and can be oscillated by means of a vibration device for conveying the cops out of the central surface onto and along the guide track to the cop dispensing device. German Patent Application DE-OS 30 45 824 does not disclose the vibrator with particularity. However, electromagnets which cooperate with spring systems are in widespread use for this purpose. Moreover, unbalance motors are also known.